Project updates

Keep team members informed on the health and progress of projects in Linear and Slack.

Overview

Project updates are short status reports on the health of your projects. They can be viewed in Linear and sent directly to Slack channels. They consist of two main components, a health indicator that provides a high-level signal of the current state of the project and a rich text description to provide more in-depth information on the status and progress.

For more granular updates on individual projects, you can additionally configure project notifications to your personal Inbox and Slack.

Configure

Configure project updates for your workspace under workspace settings. Select a Slack channel where updates will go (we recommend a dedicated one such as #project-updates) and set optional reminders to project leads at a regular cadence (e.g. post an update weekly on Wednesdays).

Configure notifications for specific projects by clicking the bell from the project view (it's next to the Updates button). From there, you can link the project to it's own Slack channel (e.g. #p-project-name) to send updates and notifications there. You can also enable personal notifications in account notifications settings.

Basics

Create project updates

The easiest way to write updates is by opening the reminder in your Inbox. You can also write updates from any project or related roadmap view by selecting the Updates button in the top right of the view.

If you're blocked from doing so, check that you're a member of the project by going to project details (Cmd/Ctrl I). Only members of a project can post updates.

View project updates

The best way to view project updates is from Slack (see the next section to configure those).

Project updates can be viewed from any individual project, team projects, or roadmap view by clicking on the Updates icon. They'll appear in chronological order and anyone (not just team members) can react with emoji to express sentiment.

How we work: The project lead adds weekly project updates. As well as viewing these in Linear, we have these set up to appear in a specific channel in our Slack workspace. We can then easily discuss each update in a Slack thread originating from the original posted message.

During weekly syncs, we'll review project updates directly in Linear. We take a few minutes to silently read them and emoji react depending on how we'd like to discuss them in the meeting. ✋ means you have a question, ▶️ means you want to see a demo, and we usually see a few others like 🚀🙌 🥳.

Send project updates to Slack

Configure all project updates in your workspace to post to Slack in project updates settings or Slack integration settings.. This will become a feed of all company projects, so we recommend using a dedicated channel (e.g. #project-updates).

To additionally send a specific project's updates to a different channel (e.g. #p-project-name), click on the bell icon in the project view. You can only link one Slack channel to an individual project in Linear, so updates will go to the same channel as project notifications if you have those configured.

Project update reminders

Turn on project update reminders for project leads in your Project updates settings. Once turned on, you can decide the frequency reminders should be sent as well as the day they should be sent on. These reminders will show up in your Linear inbox and your chosen notification methods. For more information around receiving project update reminders, please see the FAQ at the bottom of this page.

Project notifications

Link projects to a specific Slack channel to see notifications when an update is posted or when issues in that project are created, receive comments, and/or have changed status. Anyone in Slack can see the notification details and anyone with a Linear account can take actions on the issue directly from the Slack notification (e.g. comment on issue).

How we work: We checkin on active projects regularly during meetings and share async updates and requests for feedback in Slack. We create a Slack channel for every project (#p-project-name) and will send Linear project notifications there (but we leave it up to the project team to decide if they want them).

Personal notifications

Receive a notification in your Inbox whenever a new issue is created in the project, a comment is made in a project issue, or an issue is marked completed or canceled. You can choose which notifications you want and manage these notifications by clicking the bell in the project view or under account notifications settings.

FAQ

Why can't I create a project update?

You need to be a member of a project to be able to create an update. If you are in the project, click cmd I to open up the project details and click into Members here to add yourself as a project member.

Why do I not see project updates?

Make sure that project updates have been turned on for your workspace. Click G followed by S and click into Project Updates in your workspace settings to ensure they have been turned on.

Can I edit an existing project update?

Yes. When viewing project updates, you'll see the edit pencil icon appear when hovering over any project updates you created. If you are not the creator of the update, you will need to ask the creator to make the update.

Can I delete an existing project update?

Not currently. We will add this functionality in the future.

Can I emoji react to a project update?

Yes. When viewing a project update, hover over it to see the emoji reaction icon appear. Click to add an emoji reaction.

Why am I not receiving project update reminders?

To receive a project update reminder, the following applies:

• You must be the project lead
• The project must have "In Progress" as its status
• You must not have posted an update in the last 24 yours
• Reminders must not be paused for that project
  

If the above conditions are true but you are still not receiving project update reminders, reach out to us for help.